Grasping the monkeytail
by Grunt
Summary: Even monkeys can learn from their mistakes. A second chance is realised and for the future of Konoha, Sarutobi makes a choice.
1. Chapter 1

**Grasping the monkey-tail**

Dark.

The sky was dark.

Dark and depressing.

And from that dark sky the rain continued to fall.

Like tears the droplets of water descended down to the earth. Still the people on the ground did not waver. They stood, kneeled or simply sat on the ground and the rain continued to fall.  
It did not matter for the sea of black, both on the ground and in the sky, grew even more as time went on. The cold was ignored, as was the silence. More and more people came, even as more black clouds gathered over them.

Konoha was showing its respect. They were showing their will. They were.

Mourning.

Civilians, shinobi, kunoichi, retired or active, it did not matter. They were there. All of them. All of Konoha had come for one final chance to mourn what had been lost. Just for the chance to once more grieve for someone important to them. Someone that had been lost. Lost to treachery. Lost to a betrayel most foul. Lost to one that had at one point in history been considered a child of Konoha.

And so Konoha mourned, so they grieved, so the cried and the heavens cried with them. For the pillar had been lost. The pillar of Konoha's strength, the will of fire that had once burned so brightly, was destroyed. Konoha's guardian was gone. Lost to them forever.

For their Hokage was dead. Gone, dead, by the god he himself had summoned upon this world to stop the ambition of the man he had once considered one of his children. In a battle for supremacy Sarutobi Sasuke had given his life, fighting the shadows of his predecessors and the man known to this world as Orochimaru.

In a battle of skill, tactics and at the end even sacrifice the Sandaime Hokage had treaded the path his successor had shown him 12 years ago. To forge a pact with death himself, to give away ones very soul for the chance of victory.

Coughing up blood the man known as the Professor had stared up at the faces he had come to know so well over the years and even while the blackness invaded his vision, even while the pain in his chest intensified, he had spoken to those near him.

"This will of fire, 'cough', I entrust it to you. Keep 'cough' keep it burning for me, no, for all of Konoha! Let it burn, 'cough', let it burn forever 'cough' and do me proud."

And with a smile on his face he had died.

Still the people gathered, the stream of people joining the others in their mourning did not cease.

And amongst them stood three.

Three shinobi.

Three killers born and bred to kill, to assassinate and to torture if necessary.

Three tools of war, as cold and dangerous as steel.

Three…children.

Two boys, one girl, two shinobi, one kunoichi.

Shinobi do not show emotions. That is their rule. That is their life.

The rain masked their tears. The mass of people masked the girl on her knees and the rigid posture of the boys. Not from their superiors, nor from their subordinates.

But from themselves.

For the life of a shinobi is a life of tears that must never fall, lest the weapon becomes brittle.

Only today they wept. They cried for the good times that were stolen from them. They wept for the guiding light that had been taken from them.

So while the girl kneeled and one of the boys clenched his fists while glaring at the ground only the third member of their team was inclined to speak.

One hand on his neck, as if gripping something on it, he looked forward, the hate shining brightly in his eyes.

"Never again!"

His voice was only a whisper, nothing more but a soft breeze, but to his companions, who had gotten used to his silent ways it was more like a scream. Seeing their questioning looks at his words, even through the rain, he released his neck and clenched his fist, drawing blood due to the brutality of his action.

"That's the second time I've lost those that are important to me!"

Realization set in. A quick glance between his comrades revealed their understanding of his words.

"I am sick of mourning. I am sick of being left behind!"

A nod and a glare were his answers, then, another nod from both, urging him to continue even as a drop of blood dropped down from his hand.

"It's not going to happen again. Never again!"

A flash of understanding in their eyes was all he could see then…

"Never again?"

The blonde boy seemed to taste the words even as he spoke them. His eyes hardened. Determination. Purpose. It was a startling transformation in the very way he held himself.

Slowly their pink-haired teammate rose from her knees, her eyes lingering upon the drop of blood on the wet floor, mingling with the water. Her eyes snapped upwards, meeting theirs and this time, there were no tears.

Only the rain and her voice, a mix of determination and grief, strangely fitting for their situation.

"Never again!"

They had lost their Hokage, they had lost their guardian.

Still they had lost more than others.

They had lost their teacher

"Never again!"

They wouldn't lose anything ever again.

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„Don't you dare and die on me Sempai!"

Coughing slightly the masked shinobi known to the world as the Copy Ninja Kakashi tried to smile in a hopeful encouraging fashion at the young Inuzuka girl.

It would have worked better if he didn't had to hold some of his guts back from spilling out of the wound on his stomach or if the red stains on his mask weren't quite as visibly as they were.

Sadly, such comforts were not available to them. All they could was run. Run and pray. Pray to whatever god would listen to their plea for them to reach their camp, for some medic-nin to perform a miracle or two.

Anything to save their comrade.

So they ran, they ran, preferring the ground instead of taking to leaping from tree to tree, in fear of aggravating their commanders injuries.

It should have been easy.

A quick infiltration.

Sneak in.

Kill.

Sneak out.

No one had told them about their target having hired shinobi from Iwa. No one had told them that those bastards had been hired for only one reason.

Hunt and Kill Hatake Kakashi.

They had been fooled from the beginning. The mission parameters had been clear. This was an assassination. The only lie was the target.

They had been thrown around like ragdolls, barely able to stand up to the Iwa shinobi. They were infiltration specialists, not straight up combat shinobi, goddamnit.

Outnumbered, surprised, rattled by the ease in which they had swallowed the bait.

Kakashi had stopped smiling. In fact, his frown was visibly even through his mask.

The Iwa shinobi to his right had no chance scream as the ground below him liquefied into poison. Even as he sunk he began to scream as his skin was eaten away.

Lightning fell from the sky, hitting Kakashi seemingly head on and the Copy Ninja was gone.

And their enemies died. They died, some screaming as their bodies were torn apart, others silently, not even realizing what was happening to them.

Their enemy had nearly advantage one could hope for in a fight.

They only had Hatake.

And their enemies continued to die.

Rocks flew by, lightning came down, fire scorched the earth and torrents of water gushed loose.

And always the red eye blazing with a life of its own, turning every jutsu thrown at the silver-haired killer into a weapon against its user.

It lasted only for a few minutes. From on second to another, were once there had been dozens of would-be assassins, now there was a graveyard.

And in the middle of the carnage Kakashi looked as unruffled as ever. Still he did not lower his guard. Even now, with no visible enemy in sight, something in him screamed at him to keep his guard up.

"Commander!"

For a second he relaxed at the voice of his second-in-command.

The sound of stone grinding on stone told him he had messed up. They sound of a meaty thunk and muffled groan told him that his kunai had hit.

The feeling of his stomach being cut open told him that so had his enemy.

Falling to his knees he could feel his mind going black. Leaving only on thought before he could think no more.

"Tsuchiyaiba no Yutsu, have to 'cough' have to remember that when I wake up."

And so the group ran.

Hoping for a miracle.

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"How is his situation, Moru-san?"

Two men stood in front of a nondescript hospital room. That alone was nothing special.

Said room however was housing the Copy Ninja Kakashi and one of the two men, while old, was still one of the most powerful men in the elemental countries.

"He is healing nicely Hokage-sama. We should be able to discharge him in about 5 weeks."

The younger man, a medic-nin, was quite happy to deliver good news for once. Taking care of the sick and wounded wasn't as rewarding as people often thought.

Especially when they couldn't save their patients life.

"I see, good work Moru-san, how long will it take for Kakashi-kun to return to active duty?"

"Nothing less than six months, in fact, eight months might be recommended. Hatake-san was in a critical situation. It was a gamble that we operated when we did and it paid off. The gods must smile upon him."

"Thank you Moru-san, I will take my leave then, please send me a note when Kakashi-kun is discharged."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

Nodding at the young men, Sarutobi turned around to leave. He had much to think about.

Things like why one of his best shinobi was in the hospital in the first place.

Most importantly, just who was behind this. Who had the sheer gall to trick Konoha and try to assassinate someone like Kakashi. Of course the assault itself had been carried out by Iwa shinobi, but that rarely meant anything in the long run.

Ibiki would have to work overtime again.

Smirking slightly the old man chuckled slightly.

Who ever was the cause of this wouldn't come to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Ibiki could be quite vicious if he had to work overtime after all.

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"So what exactly is the problem Iruka-kun?"

Smiling reassuringly at the young chuunin Sarutobi rested in his chair, happy for a chance to let the paperwork be forgotten for a while.

"Well, with Hatake-san in the hospital it seems we have a vacancy in jounin for the new genin teams."

Cringing at the surprised look on the Hokage's face Iruka tried to look as small as possible.

"And there is no one else who could take one a team of genin right now? Not even one jounin?"

"All the others are either already leading a team, on long-term missions or simply not on the needed level to actually take on a genin team Hokage-sama."

Sighing deeply the old man focused on his crystal ball, trying to think of anything.

Minutes ticked away.

"Send them to me, Iruka-kun."

"What? Forgive me Hokage-sama, who should I send to you?"

"The team without a teacher, when you assign the teams, tell them to report to the tower, I will see what I can do till then."

"Yes sir, thank you Hokage-sama."

Bowing low and silently thanking the gods for taking this problem out of his hands, the chuunin left, leaving the old man to his thoughts.

With a sigh he rose from his seat.

Maybe a stroll through the village would enlighten him.

So he walked out of his office, telling his secretary to send a messenger if anything urgent came up he strolled out of the tower, letting his feet carry him somewhere.

Sometimes it was best to simply start walking.

Every road starts with the first step.

Even a road down the memory lane.

And as he walked the old man known as Sarutobi Sasuke remembered.

A time of war.

A time of constant strife.

A time with his team mates, creeping behind enemy lines, securing important documents for the Nidaime.

He remembered, fighting, laughing, yes even loving. He remembered.

The awe at seeing the Nidaime's prized water techniques.

The fear when faced with the might of the beast known as the 3-tails.

The exhilaration when he entered the hospital-room, seeing his wife and their son, both healthy and happy.

He remembered…his students.

Tsunade, always the tomboy, striving for greatness, proving her worth as she charged onwards, crushing everything in her way.

Orochimaru, the quiet genius, able to unnerve even grown man with his stare alone, daring his enemies to make a move while coldly calculation their demise.

Jiraiya, so quick to anger, so quick to fight, yet a sage all on his own, reaching greatness just like his team-mates by his own way.

How proud he had been.

Like a father, he had watched them grow.

Watched them break.

Watched them disappear.

Now they were gone, one plotting Konoha's downfall, another not caring if Konoha just disappeared from the surface of the world and only one of them still sending messages now and then.

A laugh pulled him out of his musings.

He was standing near the childrens playground and the young ones were certainly enjoying their chance to get dirty.

He couldn't help it.

A small smile stole itself on his face.

This was what he was fighting for. This was what he had sacrificed so much for.

Hearing the children play, seeing them safe and sound, ignorant of all the dangers in the world.

If only his children could smile again.

If only….

The thought came unbidden. From on moment to the other it was there and didn't leave again.

There were a thousand reasons why it wouldn't work. A thousand reasons why it couldn't be done, but the thought persisted.

He could take the chance.

As the Hokage it was his right.

It was his choice.

He wouldn't push his genin on a teacher unwilling to teach them.

He wouldn't, not after they had given their all for this chance to be a shinobi of Konohagakure.  
They were children of Konoha, they were his children as far as he was concerned.

They would get every chance they could.

After all, this monkey still had some tricks to teach.

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"Nee, Iruka-sensei, where's our teacher?"

"NARUTO, will you shut up already!"

"But Sakura-chan, I want to know."

Sighing deeply Iruka wondered once again if had been a mass murder in his former life.

"As I already told you Naruto, Hokage-sama will tell you who your teacher is, because Hatake-san, the man that should been your teacher was injured."

"So old man Hokage is going to make sure I get the best teacher, isn't he?"

"Idiot, of course we will get a good teacher, Sasuke-kun is on this team after all."

Glancing at the silent boy next to the bickering two, Iruka didn't have it in this heart to tell them that no one he knew was available.

Seeing the entrance to the tower Iruka once more thanked the gods that the short trek had finally come to an end.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, listen up, from this on, you're on your own, Hokage-sama already awaits you, so don't make him wait any longer, got it?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Will do Iruka-sensei, see you later."

"Idiot, don't be so loud."

Still bickering the two followed Sasuke who had decided to simply go in instead of waiting for his team mates to calm down.

A few minutes of unnatural silence followed, as for once Naruto didn't have anything to say, giving Sakura no reason, imagined or real to dress him down.

They walked on, in silence. Every once in a while a shinobi crossed their path and the silence continued on.

At least, the last door opened and the secretary motioned for them to enter.

"What followed was an orange blur and a loud:

"Yo, old man, how are you, still keeping my hat warm for me?"

"NARUTO, stop being so disrespectful to the Hokage."

Smiling at the three genin Sarutobi stood up.

"Well Team 7, I'm sure you were already briefed on your situation. You should know that as of now, there is no free jounin that would be able to teach your team effectively."

His answer was a loud protest from Naruto, as the blonde boy yelled as loudly as he could, proclaiming the unfairness of the world and that he didn't need a teacher.

Sakura and Sasuke only looked on, confused on why they were here if there was no teacher for them. Would they get send back to the academy?

"Naruto, calm down, as I said, there is no jounin to teach you right now, so I have decided for you to receive your training from another source."

The old man couldn't help himself as he saw their expectant faces. Smirking he picked up a stack of signed paper-work and promptly dropped it into Naruto's arms.

"As of today, Team 7 is assigned to the Hokage of Konohagakure. From this day onwards you will aid me in my daily duties, while you are being trained in the arts of the shinobi."

The first thing to set in was the shock.

Then a strange giddiness. They were going to be trained by the Hokage himself.

They were going to train under the strongest shinobi of Konoha.

Then…

"Wait up old man, what am I supposed to do with this stuff?"

Waiving around the paperwork in his arms Naruto tried to face the old man, only to realize that the stack of paperwork was just too tall.

"Why isn't it obvious Naruto-kun? You will also assist me with my paperwork and the faster we finish the faster we can go and have a look at this scroll of jutsu's I have here."

It was confirmed, the old man was definitely smirking now.

The moment Naruto had heard finish, paperwork and jutsu he was already gone, together with his stack.

Chuckling Sarutobi looked at the two remaining genin as the both took a stack of paperwork.

"Well then, I expect this shouldn't take to long, you only need to return them to the offices written on the front for now."

Seeing them nod and disappear he mustered the remaining papers on his desk.  
The enthusiasm of youth was a beautiful thing wasn't it?

Well time to start, it wouldn't do for this old man to be bested by those youngsters.

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"Well done you three, you were even faster than I expected."

Seeing their tired grins, even Sasuke lips seemed to twitch slightly, at his praise Sarutobi motioned for them to sit down on the floor in his study.

"Now for this scroll, I want each one of you to write down one jutsu from this scroll. Decide on which one you will take and write it down."

Giving them a blank scroll and a pencil he watched them huddle over the scroll.

A nostalgic smile grew on his face as he saw how quiet they were. Truly, if even Naruto didn't have the energy to be loud, Sasuke and Sakura must have been dead on their feet.

Sloppily they copied down their chosen jutsu, as they had been told.

Finally they were done and the Sarutobi put the scroll away.

"Well, it seems you three are rather tired, so we will call it a day for now, however, I do expect all three of you to learn the jutsu you just wrote down and after you're done you will switch your scrolls."

Neither Sakura nor Sasuke could quite fight the frown that bloomed on their face as they remembered Naruto's handwriting. Learning anything from that would be a miracle. Still they were too tired to complain.

Before Sarutobi could dismiss them a growl interrupted him, leaving a sheepish Naruto touching his belly and whining about hunger.

"Hmmm well, seeing as how Naruto is so close to starvation, I think I can afford to invite you three for a quick meal before we end this day."

Seeing Sakura's hesistant nod and Sasuke's blank stare he added.

"For today, how about a bowl of ramen, I imagine something fast and warm might just be the right thing for you three."

This time Naruto did shout out in glee, not even death could stop his enthusiasm for Ramen, so what if he was a little tired.

This time their little walk wasn't as quiet as before, as Naruto suddenly found hidden reserves and explained the thousands of reasons why Ramen was the food of the gods.

It was only after they had ordered and the first bowl of Ramen had appeared in front of Naruto that he decided that eating Ramen was more important than praising Ramen.

And so the ate.

Their first time as a team.

Not that the cared any way. Sakura just wanted to sleep, somewhere, anywhere, far away from all the evil paperwork.

Sasuke was already thinking about his new jutsu while eating his Ramen, expressionless as always.

The thought of learning something written down by Naruto was giving him a headache already, damn that dobe.

Naruto, well, Naruto was busy stuffing Ramen into his throat to think about anything else.

The whole scene made the old man smile. It was just a meal, yes, but maybe, it was the beginning of something more.

Understanding?

Unlikely, but it could happen.

He would make it happen.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, tell, what is it that you see there!"

Getting their attention he pointed at a market stall in the distance, people milling about it, minding their own business as they went by.

"It's a market stall Hokage-sama."

Sakura's answer was the first, spoken timidly as she watched the stall.

Sasukes grunt was noted down as agreement.

"Ne, old man, that's the stall of that mean old lady that threw a bucket after me when I painted her cat pink."

This answer brought forth a chuckle even as Sakura, as tired as she was, managed to get up and slap Naruto on the back of his head.

"You are right of course, but there is something else. For a shinobi must look underneath the underneath. This is important for all shinobi, but this is something only a shinobi of Konoha can possible see."

Seeing the confusion he smiled sadly and shook his head.

"It does not matter for now, you three however did great today, go get some rest. Tomorrow will be even harder I'd say. Do not forget to learn the jutsu you wrote down and think about what I told you, my students."

Saluting sloppily Naruto jumped to attention.

"Yeah, I'll learn it faster than Sasuke-teme, just you watch old man."

"What are you saying you idiot, there is no way you could learn your jutsu before Sasuke learn his."

"We'll see about this dobe."

"Are you mocking me, Teme?"

Again the old man chuckled as he left his students to their bickering.

This time, he would do things right.

Even monkey's can learn from their mistakes after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Grasping the monkey-tail**

Horse

Monkey

Slug

Horse

Crow

Tiger

A wave of red light broke through the darkness, showing the figure of a young man.

A young men who's right hand seemed to glow blood red.

Kaiton: Nenshounigiri no jutsu. The Art of the Burning Grip.

A moment of silence

The sound of burning flesh and a muttered curse as the boy deactivated the jutsu immediately and put his aching hand into the water he had prepared beforehand.

A quick glance at the scroll next to him told the raven-haired boy all he needed to know.

He had failed.

Again

The jutsu was supposed to be burn only in on direction, which was outside. With the necessary Chakra control the jutsu wouldn't have harmed him at all.

It didn't matter. He would learn this technique.

There was no if or maybe to it, only a when.

That was his heirloom, the pride of his family, the tenancy of those who had everything to lose by not succeeding.

Failure, for him, should not exist.

Losing was not even supposed to be a possibility.

And so it went on.

Horse

Monkey

Slug

Horse

Crow

Tiger

Leaving only the red light and burning fist of the last of the Uchiha.

Horse

Monkey

Slug

Horse

Crow

Tiger

Failure was not an option.

It never was.

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She wasn't glaring.

She wasn't even angry.

Why would she be angry?

Just because this stupid piece of rock didn't have the decency to appear just a bit faster, to be just a tad bigger.

Again her hands formed the seals, her memory was clear after all, she had no need for the scroll once she had it memorized.

She know what the scroll said.

Hell, she could recite it right here right now down to the every single word.

If she had wanted to.

Again the earth broke apart, again a mould of earth formed in front of hear.

It didn't even reach her knees and it appeared with the speed of a snail.

Doton: Shinkoutsuchimori no jutsu.

There was earth she decided. Lots of it in fact.

Most of it on her knees and her dress.

But frankly the thought of calling that pathetic pimple of a rock she had called forth a "Rising Earthlance" was just too depressing to even think about it.

Lances were sharp she reminded herself.

Patting her attempt, she could only conclude only one thing.

I suck.

Without a doubt even that idiot Naruto could have summoned up something more fitting than what she had managed.

Lance?

More like a branch. A pathetic little piece of mud, the ugly little cousin of stalagmite.

Was that piece of muddy earth mocking her?

Filled by a sudden urge for violence she released a strong kick.

A crack.

Then a cry.

Lots of cursing.

"Damn it, just thinking about that idiot Naruto makes me as stupid as him!"

It was going to be a long night.

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A loud snore.

Another one.

Uzumaki Naruto slept the sleep of the dead.

Tomorrow, he had decided before going to sleep, was going to be a good day.

He would show anyone his new incredible jutsu.

That would show Sasuke and Sakura would finally see just how awesome he really was.

Yup

He was awesome alright.

How else could one explain that it had only taken him 6 hours to learn his Raiton: Raikouhari no jutsu?

He simply was that good, yep.

Nothing less could be expected from the future Hokage.

And the next bastard that kept on calling him dead-last would get a lightning needle right where it hurt.

It wasn't as if using his Kage-Bunshin was like cheating.

It was his goddamn best jutsu, after all.

Well, he wouldn't have known anything about it's really nifty ability if one of his Kage-Bunshin's hadn't ran into a shinobi while delivering the paper-work.

Suffice to say that Naruto had been rather shocked why he suddenly knew that he would have to gather all the sheets of paper from the floor of the Interrogation and Torture Department thanks to some chuunin with no regard for his poor hardworking Kage-Bunshin.

Still it had taken him several hours to learn the jutsu.

Well, actually the jutsu itself had taken that long.

Deciphering the thing he called handwriting however, had taken several hours.

A blue spark had enveloped his hand on the first successful try.

Then the spark had become a mini storm and shocked him into unconscious.

Half an hour later he had awoken again, ready to try again.

In the end, the fruits of his labour had been plentiful.

A new jutsu, straight from the Hokage himself.

A exotic new jutsu.

Lightning was a strange element for a Konoha shinobi after all.

Still, the old man had told them to choose one of them.

Yup, being Hokage was definitely going to be awesome.

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They were old.

But in their case, age had not brought only decay, for even as their bodies weakened, their minds had remained sharp.

Theirs was the wisdom of battles hard fought.

Theirs was the knowledge accumulated over centuries of strife.

They existed for the good of Konoha.

They existed to serve their Hokage.

Be it as advisers

Or the voice of reason.

"Hokage-sama, we must inform you that we think it unwise to allow the situation with Team 7 continue like this."

They had not gathered to accuse.

They had gathered to discuss, to debate and to find a solution.

"I am afraid, there is no alternative to this course of action."

"Again, we think that the attention you would have to give both your team and your position as Hokage would impede both."

A quick glance revealed nothing.

Their faces were set in stone.

So was his.

For the good of Konoha, they would speak their mind.

For the good of Konoha, for the happiness of his people, he would walk his path.

"This is my choice honoured members of the council, I assure that I will do my best to train them."

His voice was calm.

But the flame was there.

Konoha's will of fire was still burning within his old heart.

This was the path he had chosen.

A cough.

"No one questions your ability to teach old monkey!"

Danzo, cold and calculation, stared at him, his eyes searching for something in Sarutobi's expression.

Then

A grin, a streak of mischievousness in his eyes the one armed man bowed.

"If your decision is already made old monkey, we won't stand in your way. For the good of Konohagakure, we trust you, Hokage-sama!"

Seeing his rivals acceptance the old man sighed.

He was planning something.

Pitiful, how those that should stand together were scheming against each other.

But it didn't matter.

Not anymore.

Their time was coming to an end.

He could feel in his bones, he could feel it, every time he remembered the battles of his youth.

His strength was leaving him, slowly but surely. The years took their toll on his ever aging body.

Whatever Danzo was up to, it did not matter.

His wish, as petty as the thought was, did not matter, nor did his ambitions.

The future would not belong to either of them.

Look at the children you old war hawk.

Look at them and see them for what they are.

They are what you can not defeat you old fool.

They future did not belong to the legends of the past, no matter how glorious they were, but to the children yet to come into power of their own.

No matter what Danzo was planning history would not care one way or another.

Leaving the meeting room he made his way into his study, taking his seat in front his crystal ball.

He had watched all three of course. He had watched them try and learn the techniques they had chosen.

Seeing them fumble and fail, only to try again.

Somehow it moved him. Had he once been like this too?

Able to get up again after falling again and again? Had he too once be capable of such boundless optimism?

Maybe this was the true strength of those young shinobi he watched.

Determination and single-mindedness mixed together with youthful enthusiasm.

Chuckling Sarutobi lighted his pipe. Inhaling the scent, he smiled at his own thoughts.

He would to what he could.

To bridge the past with the future, he would once again give it his all.

"After all, this is the path that this old man here chose. This is the path of the one called Hokage. One last time, I shall teach someone the way of the world."

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A strange silence hat settled over the study of the venerable Sandaime Hokage.

A silence disturbed only by the scratching of pencils over paper.

A silence that was shattered with a cry of:

"My head hurts, old man!"

Clutching his head Naruto stared up from his work, sending a pleading look to the Hokage.

His answer was a bump to the head courtesy oh his pink haired teammate

"Shut up Naruto, we're nearly done, so keep quiet."

Sending both of them an annoyed look the last member of Team 7 tried to concentrate on the sheet of paper in front of him.

Tried being the important word here as the symbols he had just written down seemed to dance in front of his eyes.

He briefly thought of throwing a quick Fireball at it, just for the heck of it, but in the end common sense won over pride, it was an instruction for a jutsu after all.

That still left him with no idea on how to tame the dancing words and letter in front of him.

"But Sakura-chan, it's been 3 hours since we started. I can't even read the letters anymore."

A quiet chuckle brought them out of their misery and alerted them to their teacher as he stood up and walked around his desk.

Taking a look at the three and their work he congratulated himself for a job well done.

Why, even Naruto's handwriting was easily readable now.

Thus, he decided, it was three hours well spent.

It wouldn't do for his teammates to try killing Naruto again because of his lousy penmanship.

They had nearly succeeded after Sakura had spent 5 hours over the thing Naruto had declared to be his instructions.

Her scream of frustration had been loud enough to wake even Shikamaru from one of his naps.

Not even Sarutobi himself could have learned that jutsu from those instructions and he had created it for god's sake. Not that he had told Naruto that.

In the end, he had written a new set of instructions for the jutsu for Sakura and Sasuke and had decided to remedy the horror that was Naruto's handwriting.

This was why he had the whole team writing down jutsu instructions, again and again, every letter written with flourish and elegance.

It was for the good of Konoha after all. No one liked a leader who's notes couldn't be read by anyone.

Especially if he couldn't even decipher them himself.

Still, their progress was impressive.

All of them had finally learned their first new jutsu.

It looked as if Naruto's boasting had motivated both Sakura and Sasuke to learn their jutsu even faster than they would have normally. The blonde boy had been surprisingly modest too, he had only mentioned his achievement 112 times from their first meeting till lunch.

On the first day.

Their choices however, had surprised the old man.

Raiko-hari no jutsu was after all his own jutsu, created as a chakra exercise more than a jutsu for combat. It was easy to learn and could be rather lethal in the hands of someone with the necessary chakra reserves while all everyone else could get out of it was a quite nasty shock. In short, it was downright perfect for someone like Naruto. When he had asked why the boy had chosen that technique his only answer had been:

"It's lightning, it has to be cool, right old man?"

Still, it had been a good choice, but not as surprising as Sakura's choice.

Of all the jutsu's on the scroll Shinkoutsuchimori no jutsu was the most offensive of the lot. The most difficult to learn too. It required precise control to give the stone the needed edge to be called a lance, while a great amount of chakra was needed for the speed and size of the lance.

To be frank, he really hadn't expected her to choose it.

Neither had he expected her to actually master it. Of course it left her lying on the ground, totally spend, barely able to crawl, but according to the kunoichi it was definitely worth it.

Sasuke's nod of approval may have had something to do with that though, but he was the only one that actually made the choice Sarutobi had expected him to make.

Katon was the Uchiha's specialty after all.

Either that or the boy had repressed pyromaniac tendencies, he had looked extremely gleeful after burning that tree to crisps.

But that was neither the here or now.

Straightening the Hokage took a moment to think of a suitable answer before opening his mouth again.

"You certainly have improved a lot. We could stop here, but if you do manage to finish this last hour, I just might be able to take some time to show you how to make explosive tags."

Hook

"I understand if you're too tired, the explosive tags will just have to wait then."

Line

"Well, then why don't we stop for today?"

Sinker

With a determined gleam in their eyes team 7 descended on to their work. Working faster than ever, for the sake of their education of course.

Smiling Sarutobi sat down again, remembering his sensei's own words on that matter.

It was nice to know that some things still held true.

"Nothing works better for motivating young shinobi than explosions, young monkey, nothing."

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Sakura was running.

Running away to be precise.

Where to?

She didn't know nor did she really care.

Just away from that insane thing that was trying to kill her.

Preferably somewhere without psychotic female monkey's with staff's that goddamn hurt when you got whacked over the head with it.

So yes, she was running. Not that the monkey bitch had called it running.

"Stamina training, my ass, that monkey's trying to kill me for god's sake."

She would have liked to call for help, but she knew it would have been useless.

That blonde idiot was too busy playing with his new toys and Sasuke-kun was running around himself, claiming that the walls were trying to eat him.

Genjutsu was a bitch like that, she thought, though Sasuke-kun should have realized by now that they were in a forest, so theoretically there couldn't be any walls.

So she ran, trying to stay alive through their latest training.

Seeing the black shape of her enemy she could only think one thing.

"Stamina training sucks!"

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"So, still think that genjutsu's useless for a fight, idiot?"

Glowering at the smirking monkey Sasuke tried desperately to get his breathing under control as he slumped down.

That had been one of the creepiest things he had ever gone through in his life, the massacre of his family not withstanding.

"Just because you know it's an illusion doesn't mean you're already free, remember that brat. Genjutsu can be quite deadly, don't you think?"

That damn ape was smirking at him.

No smirking was too weak a word for that face.

He was gloating.

That's fucking it. He refused to let a flea bitten monkey of all things get the better of him.

Besides he wasn't beaten, he was only a bit out of breath, so it only counted as a draw anyway.

"So what about it, you want to learn some nifty illusions from me or you want to glare at me all day long."

"Fine!"

No way in hell was he going to say please to a monkey of all things.

"Good then watch closely brat, this is your best chance to learn the subtle art of genjutsu, so watch me closely and do what I show you. It should be easy for you, you Uchiha's aren't that different from us when it comes to learning after all."

For a moment pride fought with curiosity at the of his family being compared to monkeys, then, curiosity won out as he send a questioning glance at his new "teacher".

"Yeah, we're pretty much alike, what with the whole monkey see monkey do thing, don't you think so brat?"

That damn animal was smirking again.

Well, he wouldn't be smirking with a kunai in his face, that was for sure.

Of course before that he would need to regain some strength.

A little nap couldn't hurt, could it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto was nervous.

No he was downright scared.

He really couldn't afford to mess this up.

Concentrating he let his chakra flow. More and more came out, flowed into the weapons in his hands and his control snaped.

An explosion of smoke obscured him from view as two voices cried out in pain.

"Man, ya really suck at this Aniki, ya need to be more careful with us, we're kinda delicate ya know?"

"That really hurt Aniki, you have to be more careful!"

"Sorry, you guys, but I just can't hold it in like you told me, maybe we should stop for now?"

Damnit, he hated hurting his friends.

Even if they were a bunch of monkeys, barely teenagers by their own standards, he felt really bad about this.

Every time he channeled his chakra into them, he lost control soon enough which resulted in him pushing in way too much and hurting them.

Besides they liked Ramen just as much he did, so they were precious people to him.

"What's with that face aniki, we said we would help you, so get up and let's try again."

"Yup, what do ya think ya doin', lookin' all gloomy, come on let's try this again."

Feeling encouraged he took one look at their smiling faces before raising his fist.

"OK, let's do it, I'm going to Hokage after all, I can't afford to fail here!"

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"It seems as if those brats of yours do have some talent after all, eh Sarutobi?"

Chuckling the old man gazed at his most powerful summon.

"Indeed, they have a lot of potential, still I have to thank you for allowing your children to help train those three."

"It's not like they didn't beg me to go and explore the world a little bit, besides, helping some Konoha-nin isn't a bad thing. Though, I wonder, I didn't expect you to take on a new set of students, not after that thing with Orochimaru!"

A deep sigh.

Slowly Sarutobi turned around, facing the Hokage Monument before he opened his mouth once more.

"Neither did I to be truthful, but I think it was the right choice. Those three need a teacher, someone to show them what the life of a shinobi is all about."

Turning again to face Enma he continued on.

"I refuse to let their dreams die because of our enemies. I refuse to let misery claim their lives Enma. I will see them taught and trained to the best of my abilities, this I swear."

Surprise, shock, then a slight chuckle.

The king of monkey's was laughing.

Then

"It's been a long time since I saw that face, monkey-boy, the last time was when some young upstart came to my tribe, demanding to face me in battle. That young punk actually managed to beat me, little bastard blindsided and sucker punched me, if I remember correctly."

Seeing the old man's embarrassed grin the summon continued.

"I'll say the same thing I said back then monkey-boy when you asked me if I would stand by my word and serve you."

Another grin, this time from both as they remembered the pact made in the past.

"Let's do this, monkey-boy, we're going to show the world just what we monkey's can do!"

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Hands moved.

Slow.

Far too slow to be of any use in battle.

Fortunately speed was not an issue this time.

It was more about understanding.

About remembering.

Naruto had never been good at those things. Academic stuff gave him headaches. Trying to remember boring stuff was a pain as far as he was concerned. Who cared about the stupid stuff some book said you should do. In a fight it was all about thinking fast and hitting hard and he was pretty good as far as that was concerned.

"Hah, that's an easy one for the future Hokage, that's Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu."

But things change and so do people. Naruto would most likely never enjoy learning but he had to admit that this was kind of fun.

And no, that they were doing this while waiting for Ramen didn't have anything to do with his good mood.

Honestly.

Just because Ayame-chan could tell what kind of Ramen he wanted from the sound his stomach made didn't mean he was a Ramen fanatic.

Ramen simply was that awesome.

A bit like being Hokage he thought.

So a Hokage that ate Ramen would be even more awesome, wouldn't he?

Still right now he had something else to do than think about the greatness that was a Ramen Hokage.

Frowning slightly he tried to think of a suitable jutsu. Something that was hard enough to show his greatness, but not too hard for Sakura-chan? It wouldn't do to embarrass her in front of Sasuke and the old man.

Sneaking a glance at his pink haired teammate he caught her focused gaze. She was downright challenging him with that look. To throw his worst at her, so that she could she just how much better she was than him.

That smirk reminded him far too much of Sasuke-teme to be comforting though.

Screw being nice, why don't you figure that one out Sakura-chan!

Slowly his hands formed the hand seals. Seal after seal, slow and careful, just like the old man Hokage had told them.

"Do it right, before you try to do it fast. There is nothing worse than messing up your jutsu. Control the battle, bring yourself and your opponent into the position you desire and then strike when the time is right. For your jutsu it would be for the best if you either use them as the ace up your sleeve, the final nail in the coffin so to speak or you use them to draw attention away from your real attack, but that will not matter because it will only leave you weak and defenseless if you do it wrong."

Noting Sakura's puzzled expression he grinned at her.

Then…

"Sorry Naruto, that was Doton: Doryuuheki no Jutsu."

Damn it. Sakura-chan was way too smart when it came to this kind of thing.

Oh well, he would get her next round and this time he would…

"Order up"

Or he could eat the delicious Ramen that awaited him. Ramen, please, before it got cold, thank you very much.

Seeing the blonde tear into his meal the two remaining genins glanced at their teacher, only to see him already breaking his chopsticks apart as he smiled at them.

"Let us continue our little training session after we are done with this delicious meal, ne?"

Nodding slightly both proceeded to lay waste to their respective bowls of Ramen.

They were quite hungry after all.

Thinking so much was harder than it looked.

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Still, this was kind of nice, Sakura decided. Sitting here, eating with Sasuke-kun, Naruto and Hokage-sama while playing little games like the one they had played right now.

And they played a lot.

Remembering jutsu hand seals, quick drawing of explosive tags, hide and seek, well more like a ninja version of hide and seek with traps and more waiting for the one being "it".

Yes the played a lot. They played till they couldn't move any more. How often had she dragged herself into her bed only to fall into a dreamless slumber the moment she felt her face touch her pillow?

And when they weren't playing they were fighting, sometimes against the monkey's Hokage-sama had summoned for them, sometimes against that thrice-damned paperwork that seemed to grow larger when no one was looking.

It really hadn't helped at all when Sasuke-kun had started to giggle like mad and tried to torch a whole stack of it with a Katon jutsu.

Narutos attempt to douse the fire with a Suiton jutsu hadn't worked out that well either.

They had also been the first time Konoha had seen the last Uchiha and blonde jinchuuriki fleeing from the pink-haired specter that was trying to kill them by spamming several Shinkoutsuchimori in quick succession. It certainly looked as if Sakura's chakra capacity had increased as had her already impressive control over her jutsu.

The boys twitch when seeing her form hand seals attested to that.

Of course after she had calmed down she proceeded to nurse the bruised Uchiha back to health.

Naruto would have protested at this unfair treatment if he hadn't be too busy laughing at Sasuke's misfortune, because as always when it came to the Sasuke, the kunoichi was liable to go overboard with her administrations.

A medin-nin, Naruto decided, Sakura was not and she most likely would never be one either.

At least he hoped so.

While Sakura in a nurse uniform was cute, her actions with the needles she had gotten from somewhere were downright scary.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Still this was kind…dare he say it…nice.

While Ramen wasn't really Sasuke's favorite food it wasn't as if he had something against it.

The dead last wasn't as bad as he had thought, even though Naruto's handwriting had been horrible enough, of course the blond idiot wasn't as good as he was, but at least he wasn't a hindrance. Actually he was quite useful as a

Sakura, while still a goddamn fan girl had proven to be more adapt at the ninja arts than he would have thought. Her pitiful stamina had increased significantly and she had proven herself to be formidable, for a kunoichi at least.

And the Hokage was everything Sasuke had hoped for in a teacher. New jutsu's nearly every day, jutsu more exotic and powerful than what he could have found on his own he was sure. Coupled with those slight bits of wisdom he oh so casually dropped around them and the hellish stamina training those annoying monkey's put them through, Sasuke for the first time since entering the ninja academy felt that he was on the right path.

Surely under the Hokage's instruction he would become powerful enough to kill his brother and then he would be able to return the Uchiha clan to it's old strength…and even beyond that.

Just for that dream, he would go through every training and pass any hardship. Even if he had to crawl through whatever awaited him bloody and beaten.

As long as the paperwork didn't get him first that was.

Shivering at the thought of this abomination others called paper he slurped his Ramen down.

If there was one thing he hated nearly as much as his brother, it would have to be that cursed paper work.

It was freaking everywhere, if you took of your eyes for but a minute it seemed to multiply, no matter how much you finished the stack just didn't seem to become any smaller.

They hadn't managed to duplicate their achievement of the first day when they had managed to do all the paper work of the day even one single time after this.

Still, all things considered, this was nice.

Some peace while memorizing jutsu for future use, a hearty meal to replenish his reserves and give him some strength for the remaining training today.

So yes, just sitting here with his…comrades was kind of nice.

Not that he would ever admit it.

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SLURP

Ramen was king.

Yup, Ramen was definitely the king of food stuff.

And it was the perfect meal to celebrate his growth.

After all that time at the academy he was finally getting somewhere.

His Raikouhari no jutsu was becoming even cooler as he became better at it. His arsenal had grown nicely thanks to old man Hokage and his amazing Kage-Bunshin.

It wasn't cheating goddamn it. He was shinobi, he was supposed to use any and all advantages he could get.

And he was getting better at fighting with Ikki and Ringo. His newest allies on his path to the title of Hokage.

He hadn't been that impressed when the old man had summoned them. They were monkey's after all. Not really that intimidating. That was before they had dragged him into the woods to play as they had called it.

That was also when they had shown him their special power.

Monkeys, he had decided the moment they were done, were awesome. Not as much as Ramen or Hokage, but a close second.

That was before they had told him that they would lend him their strength.

This was also before they told him that their weapon forms could do some nifty tricks with some chakra.

Not only could just about any member of the monkey tribe transform into a weapon, with chakra to enhance those weapon-turned-monkeys the shinobi wielding them could do some serious damage.

Heh, Sasuke could have his little flute and his wacky illusions.

Sakura-chan and her staff of instant-headache couldn't hold a candle against the awesomeness that was Ikki and Ringo.

The thought of wielding two super sized butchers knifes to crush his enemies made him cackle with glee.

Monkey's were awesome like that.


End file.
